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Friday, February 3, 2017

#625 - Mark Langston

What a card: This is Mark Langston's first flagship card. He appears in traded/update sets for Topps and Fleer in 1984.

My observation on the front: The photo used with this card likely comes from the same time (and possibly the same pitch) as the one used on his 1984 Topps Traded card.

More opinion from me: Another miscut card. There are a lot of things about old cards that I miss, but I'll never miss how often I pulled a miscut card then.Something you might know: Langston was the AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1984 after leading the league in strikeouts. He would later be traded to the Expos in the spring of 1989 for three players, including a throw-in pitcher named Randy Johnson.

Something you might not know: Langston was involved in a one-sided feud with manager Dick Williams. Williams was fired by the Mariners after leaving Langston in a game too long in 1988. Williams later called Langston "gutless" in a book and openly rooted for Langston to fail in big games later in his career. Langston, to his credit said, "I wish there was nothing between us. There is from his standpoint but not from mine."

My observation on the back: Armas' home run title in 1984 was the end of an eight-year reign for Red Sox home run hitter. A Red Sox player led the league in home runs from 1977-84 five of the eight years.

-- The Hardball Times-- HighHeatStats.com-- Honolulu Star-Bulletin-- "If These Walls Could Talk, Los Angeles Dodgers" - Houston Mitchell--IMDb.com-- "Is This a Great Game or What?" - Tim Kurkijan-- the Ivy League